Analysis / Acquisition, Reform

Moving Away from Traditional Major Defense Acquisition Program Structure

Assessing Defense Reform Series

Photo courtesy of US Air Force: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/5951802446/

Summary

The acquisition system needs to reevaluate the way major defense acquisition programs are acquired and move throughout the acquisition process. In the 2017 NDAA bill drafts, both the Senate and House seek to fundamentally change the basis for how acquisition programs are structured through notably different, yet not fundamentally conflicting ways. They present competing alternatives to the traditional acquisition program structure; and serious consideration and testing is needed to determine which, if either, proposal fits the bill and works across the full spectrum of capabilities that DoD needs.
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